Making the Model

Due to the short turn around time on this project, I opted to use polygon cage modeling to create the fish. In the image below, you can see the complete lowrez cage of the fish and an exploded view of the individual parts. The Neon Tetra is a translucent fish where its insides are visible. to hint at this phenomenon, I created the fish's innards which are just slightly seen (in the image below, the innards are the small tube like shape that runs the length of the fish's body).

Below you can see the effect of the cage model of the fish smoothed for final rendering.